Factual Based Questions - 3 | English for CLAT PDF Download

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
HE DRAINED HIS THIRD cup of watery tea to the dregs and set to chewing the crusts of fried bread that were scattered near him, staring into the dark pool of the jar. The yellow dripping had been scooped out like a boghole, and the pool under it brought back to his memory the dark turfcoloured water of the bath in Clongowes. The bog of pawn tickets at his elbow had just been rifled and he took up idly one after another in his greasy fingers the blue and white dockets, scrawled and sanded and creased and bearing the name of the pledger as Daly or MacEvoy.
1 Pair Buskins.
1 D. Coat.
3 Articles and White.
1 Man’s Pants.
Then he put them aside and gazed thoughtfully at the lid of the box, speckled with louse marks, and asked vaguely:
- How much is the clock fast now?
His mother straightened the battered alarm clock that was lying on its side in the middle of the mantelpiece until its dial showed a quarter to twelve and then laid it once more on its side.
- An hour and twenty five minutes, she said. The right time now is twenty past ten. The dear jr knows you might try to be in time for your lectures.
- Fill out the place for me to wash, said Stephen.
- Katey, fill out the place for Stephen to wash.
- Booty, fill out the place for Stephen to wash.
- I can’t, I’m going for blue. Fill it out, you, Maggie.
When the enamelled basin had been fitted into the well of the sink and the old washing glove flung on the side of it, he allowed his mother to scrub his neck and root into the folds of his ears and into the interstices at the wings of his nose.
- Well, it’s a poor case, she said, when a university student is so dirty that his mother has to wash him.
- But it gives you pleasure, said Stephen calmly.
An ear splitting whistle was heard from upstairs and his mother thrust a damp overall into his hands, saying:
- Dry yourself and hurry out for the love of goodness.
A second shrill whistle, prolonged angrily, brought one of the girls to the foot of the staircase.
- Yes, father?
- Is your lazy bitch of a brother gone out yet?
- Yes, father.
- Sure?
- Hm!
The girl came back, making signs to him to be quick and go out quietly by the back. Stephen laughed and said:
- He has a curious idea of genders if he thinks a bitch is masculine.
- Ah, it’s a scandalous shame for you, Stephen, said his mother, and you’ll live to rue the day you set your foot in that place. I know how it has changed you.
[Extracts from A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN and DUBLINERS By JAMES JOYCE]
Q1: What items did Stephen examine after rifling through the pile of pawn tickets?
(a) 1 Pair of gloves, 1 D. Coat, 2 Articles and Black, 1 Woman’s Dress.
(b) 1 Pair Buskins, 1 D. Coat, 3 Articles and White, 1 Man’s Pants.
(c) 2 Pair of shoes, 1 U. Coat, 4 Articles and Blue, 2 Men’s Pants.
(d) 1 Pair of socks, 1 C. Coat, 5 Articles and Red, 1 Child’s Pants.
Ans: (b)
Sol: In the paragraph, it is specifically mentioned that Stephen picked up the pawn tickets and read the items listed on them, which were "1 Pair Buskins, 1 D. Coat, 3 Articles and White, 1 Man’s Pants."

Q2: What was the condition of the alarm clock when Stephen's mother adjusted it?
(a) It was hanging on the wall.
(b) It was lying on its side in the middle of the mantelpiece.
(c) It was placed neatly on a table.
(d) It was broken and not showing time.
Ans: (b)
Sol: The text states that the alarm clock was lying on its side in the middle of the mantelpiece when Stephen's mother straightened it to show the correct time.

Q3: How much ahead was the clock according to Stephen's mother?
(a) An hour and thirty minutes.
(b) An hour and fifteen minutes.
(c) An hour and twenty-five minutes.
(d) Two hours.
Ans: (c)
Sol: Stephen's mother mentions that the clock is fast by an hour and twenty-five minutes when she adjusts it to show the right time.

Q4: Who was asked to fill out the place for Stephen to wash?
(a) Katey and Booty.
(b) Maggie and Booty.
(c) Katey, Booty, and Maggie.
(d) Stephen’s mother and Maggie.
Ans: (c)
Sol: In the paragraph, it is narrated that Stephen first asks Katey, then Booty, and finally Maggie is the one who ends up filling out the place for him to wash.

Q5: What was Stephen's response to his mother's comment about university changing him?
(a) He disagreed and said he remained the same.
(b) He ignored the comment.
(c) He laughed and made a joke.
(d) He agreed and expressed regret.
Ans: (c)
Sol: When his mother commented on how university has changed him, Stephen's response was to laugh and then he made a joke about his father’s use of the word 'bitch', indicating his light-hearted attitude towards the comment.